Tom Rush

According to Rolling Stone Magazine, Tom Rush was the prototypical singer-songwriter when he burst onto the greater-Boston coffee-house scene in the early 60s. Rush's distinctive guitar style, wry humor, and expressive voice have made him a legend. Rush began performing in 1961 while attending Harvard University. A regular at Cambridge's Club 47, he helped shape the folk revival in the 1960s with his versions of Lowland Scots and Appalachian folk songs, terrific story telling, and a passion for the blues. Although never a prolific songwriter himself, Rush has long championed emerging artists. His early recordings introduced the world to the songwriting of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and many other notables, helping them to gain recognition early in their careers. Rush exhibited an uncanny knack for finding timeless songs, and writing his own, many of which have become classics re-interpreted by new generations. In the early 1970s, Rush began embracing electric instrumentation, forming his own band and touring extensively.

In 1972, Rush recorded his Merrimack County album (named after his home turf) for Columbia Records. Rush was in terrific form. His singing and acoustic guitar work on this album was among the finest he ever recorded. Containing primarily originals, rather than the interpretations of contemporary folk songs and traditional standards that he had made his name with, this album captured Rush fully embracing folk-rock and country-rock territory. Endless promotional tours, interviews, television appearances, and recording sessions eventually became exhausting and Rush went into retirement on his New Hampshire farm for the remainder of the decade. He returned in the early 1980s fully recharged, and continued a successful performing and recording schedule that endures to the present day.